Emerald Elementary in Broomfield on hunt for artifacts

School seeking items from its 54-year history for permanent display

PUTTING SCHOOL'S HISTORY ON DISPLAY: Emerald Elementary School principal Samara Williams looks at yearbook that is part of a display at the school looking back on Emerald's 54-year history. More items are wanted for the display. (DAVID R JENNINGS / Broomfield Enterprise)

Have an item to give?

Emerald Elementary School is looking for old yearbooks, photos, clothing or other Emerald-related items from its 54-year history. Those who have items to donate or loan to the historical display can email jkbonelli@comcast.net or samara.williams@bvsd.org, or call the school at 720-561-8500 and speak to Sara Goldberg.

Folks at Emerald Elementary School are on a hunt for treasures from the school's 54-year past.

Whether it's old yearbooks, historic photos, trophies or a picture of the school's beloved dragon mascot, Emerald staff and volunteers are asking the community to donate their old gear to be part of a permanent display in front of the school. The goal is to honor Broomfield's oldest school and the residents who have made the school what it is since its dedication in 1959.

"We think the community has things in their attics or garages," said principal Samara Williams.

Jean Bonelli, a former Boulder High School principal and former member of the Boulder Valley school board, has been spearheading the history project. Though there are a handful of items in the case already, she said a call for donations will help fill out the case nicely.

"People have told us their stories, but artifacts are few," she said.

The project started modestly enough: The school had an empty display case that needed an eye-catching makeover.

"We just wanted the front of the school to look good," Williams said.

Volunteers decided to display artifacts from years past, but came up with just a few yearbooks and a dragon-emblazoned cardigan. So the project blossomed into a full-blown scavenger hunt, for which volunteers dug through the school's storage space and tracked down old faculty members, staff and former students for help.

"Once we wrote a letter to the community, it started sparking interest," Williams said.

Bob Seeber, a former Broomfield school board member and former PTA president, shared written documents about the early years and the construction of Emerald.

The hunt also turned up a handful of yearbooks ranging from 1960 to 1998, which show students playing sports and beaming for official school pictures. Someone also found trophies for a 1992 Broomfield Days spirit award and one for an 1985 Odyssey of the Mind hat contest.

The case also displays an old track jacket decorated with the school's emerald-green dragon mascot, Snortner.

Williams said there isn't as much in the case as she would like, but it is still enough to spark conversations and trips down memory lane. When parents pick up their children or arrive in the lobby to volunteer, they've shared memories of their favorite teachers and classroom activities.

Some of the stories have a curious link to Snortner, who was named after John Ortner, Emerald's principal for 25 years.

"I've heard a lot of stories from people who said their class was responsible for choosing the mascot or naming Snortner," Williams said. "They're all different ages, so I'm not sure who's right."

During its early years, the school served children in kindergarten through 12th grade. As Broomfield and the surrounding area grew, Emerald began serving a narrower age range until it became solely an elementary school. Today, nearly 350 students fill classrooms each day, and the school also offers full-day kindergarten and preschool.

Recent building improvements have added a new gym and some remodeled classrooms for many more students in the future.

The school certainly looks different than it did in 1959, and it even looks different than it did when Alex Buffington attended Emerald in 1998. Buffington returned two years ago to work as a caregiver for the after-school program.

Back when Buffington was in fifth grade, her class learned about immigration by going through a mock Ellis Island, which simulated the confusion of entering a country when immigrants couldn't speak English or understand customs.

The school's curriculum is a little different now, but with new programs and activities, "they do a lot more at the school now," she said.

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